The concert I recently attended, on February 11, 2012, was held at Carnegie Hall, in New York City. Needless to say how inspiring this venue can be, even while undergoing restoration, and especially when the performance is held at the Stern Auditorium, on Perelman Stage. The featured program named Another Time, Another Place, performed by Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, included the following four pieces, in the order they were performed:

• TIPPETT Divertimento on Sellinger’s Round
• SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Concerto No. 1
• HONEGGER Pastorale d’été
• TCHAIKOVSKY Serenade for Strings

It must be noted, in contrast to the material tackled in the class, none of the pieces fall within the time frame of the Classical Period, as we know it, for the earliest work from the above-mentioned list was written in 1880, which is the Serenade for Strings by Tchaikovsky. And yet, the piece that will be further discussed is even more recent, by Dmitry Shostakovich. Prior moving forward with more details on the piece, however, there are several observations I would like to share pertaining to the overall experience of attending this concert.

To begin with, it’s awesome to be a student when it comes to buying tickets. Student programs offered by such cultural venues as Carnegie Hall are indeed praiseworthy and should certainly be taken advantage of. Even though I’m almost certain most of the readers of this post are already aware of student deals out there, and yet, it doesn’t hurt to emphasize the fact. Another thing I always attempted to rationalize is the predominance of elderly in audience. While I understand that, for the most part, “classical” music can be “boring” to majority of mid-aged audience, I always wondered whether one comes to enjoy it as one grows older or whether these elderly folks enjoyed it even when they were in their thirties.  And lastly, I have finally come to realize why they have glass candy at such concert–I guess I never thought about it before…

And now back to Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1. The following is the breakdown of the piece:

1. Allegretto (6:10)
2. Lento (8:34)
3. Moderato (1:47)
4. Allegro con brio (6:51)

The overall structure is not that much different from the concertos of the Classical Period, while this one was finished in 1933. The major difference in the form, when compared to concertos of Mozart and Beethoven, is the extra movement. Most of their concertos, as portrayed throughout history, were written in three movements. To be a bit more specific, the following is the structure as per wikipedia:

1. A quick opening movement in sonata form including a cadenza (which may be improvised by the soloist).
2. A slow, free expressive movement
3. A faster rondo

As can be seen and heard, the form used by Schostakovich was fairly within concerto form used by Classical composers, with the only difference of having the third, Moderato movement. And even this can be interpreted as a build-up to the fourth movement, essentially not changing the whole “texture” of the concerto form.

Another reason I chose this piece over the other three is for its unusual use of the trumpet. The full title of this concerto is Concerto in C minor for Piano, Trumpet, and String Orchestra. As the title suggests, and as one hears throughout the concerto, use of the trumpet in this piece is rather highlighted. Because of this, the piece can be perceived by many listeners as double concerto, where both piano and the trumpet are equally credited as leaders. And yet, upon closer observation and listening, it will become evident that this is a true concerto with piano being the king, despite the fact that, toward the end, the trumpet becomes almost equally “important” as the piano.

Overall, this piece is well balanced and rather smooth, especially when compared to some of Beethoven’s concertos. I liked it, nonetheless.